Air Conditioning Advice

[ozsmoka]

noisy compressor

Hey all, I seem to be have a similar problem to liability above. I have a v8 vs wagon. When I have the air con on and the car is under load the bearings and belt squeal like a banshee. When I turn the air con off, there is no noise what so ever. Ive tried changing the belt, adjusting the tension, but nothing I seem to do seems to have any effect.

sometimes there is also a smell of rubber from the belt when its shreiking - I assume the compressor is siezing? It seems to be intermitant. When I had the belt off last, I spun the the compressor pulley and it seemed to spin freely.

I have never worked on air con - am I on the right track? Im assuming major costs in terms of repairs/replacement?

cheers

 

[ephect]

the belt needs tightening, i think u can adjust it buy loosening the bolts to the a/c and with a screwdriver, and wedge the a/c out, tightening the belt, then do up ur bolts, whalla

i think this is how u do it.. dont have a 5L, can someone confirm???

 

[ozsmoka]

thanks ephect,but I thought that was the problem with the last belt and I tightened it till it broke lol.

The aircon works fine btw its as cold as ever....:S

 

[ephect]

maybe time for a new belt and tighten as above, have they been replaced lately? if not, maybe its a good time to replace them all. at least then u'll have peace of mind regarding ur belts

 

[ozsmoka]

yeah mate Ive replaced all belts and tightened them properly afaik and I had a new radiator put in by a liscenced mechanic only a week or so ago and they must have inspected the belts, so Im stumped. Its driving me crazy...I dont know what happens when the compressor craps out so Im not sure how they sound or what they do. Do they go gradually or do they just blow? Do they gradually stop cooling or does the aircon just die suddenly?

cheers

 

[ephect]

cooling is to do with the gas, so if its leaking gas u'll know coz it wont be getting as cold.

i think the bearings go on the compressors and u'll hear its noisy.. whuring sound or along those lines, or they will just stop and u'll hear the god awefull squeel! id say maybe he didnt tighten it up enough, hence ur squeeling..

give the belt a tighten, n see if that helps :thumbsup:

 

[ozsmoka]

yeah mate I tried tightening the ac belt this morning. As I said, I pushed the last new belt to the point of it breaking, so Ive tightened as far as I dare before it breaks. The sound doesnt seem to change even when you tighten the belt. Ive had this with 2 new ac belts so far. Ive double checked its the right belt etc, but still I get this squealing.

When I turn the ac off and wind down the windows and have a listen, I get no noise at all, in fact it sounds great. The minute I put the ac on, the squeal comes back intermittently. Like I said, the ac seems fine in every other respect..

 

[Holden4fun]

Air Conditioning not working VR Calais (94)

Hi Folks,
I did post this in another section (my mistake) and I have been advised to post here.

I have been reading some of the posts but I do need some help to steer me in the right direction (as you have done for me on other problems).

Car - 94 VR Calais

Problem - air condition not operating.

In the past when the engine is idling and I press the button to start the air conditioning the following occurs - the compressor clutch engages, the thermo fans start and the idle speed of the engine increases slightly to compensate for the drag of the compressor.

When i do this now i get none of the above. My wife took it to an airconditioning place and they said it needed to be regassed and many other things. This seems rubbish. Even if it needed regassing the compressor and the thermo fan would start.

I have looked at the fuses. The vehicle handbook and the under dash panel do not agree. Which fuse number and what amperage for the A/C?

Can anyone provide some diagnositc tests i can do please? Is this a computer issue or something simpler. I have run the temperature up and down but A/C no go.

It seems to me the signal from the switch is not getting to the fan or the idle speed regulator or the compressor. Is my thinking ok ?

All help greatly appreciated.

Thankyou

Holden4fun

 

[ephect]

im guessing ur A/C relay has died..

the fuses with amps should be listed on the fuse cover, i'd go on whats listed there.. check both below ur steering column n also under bonnet.

check back with some progress

 

[dingo1990]

aye

hey man what is the problem if the side A/C puts out a low air pressure????..but the middle ones put out great a great air flow. ??